Crew v. Chivas USA @ Home Depot Center, Carson, Calif, Sunday, April 5, 8 p.m.

The last time the Crew were at the Home Depot Center, they lifted their first MLS Cup. On Sunday they return under much different circumstances, sitting 11th in the league with a 0-1-2 record after a dispiriting loss to Real Salt Lake on national television just three days ago. (Video)

Eddie Gaven’s take on the Real Salt Lake Massacre of 2009: “We didn’t play very good team defense … from the guys in the front all the way to the guys in the back. We had too many gaps, and that made it very easy for them to play.”

Coach Robert Warzycha said, "I think we have to forget as soon as possible that we were the champions last year. We need to forget about it, start to work hard and get some results."

Something has to change if the Black & Gold hope to avoid starting the 2009 campaign with a four-game winless streak, which would be the worst start since 2004.

Captain Frankie Hejduk had been expected to return to the line up at right back but was reported as questionable late Saturday. Hejduk's absence has been noticable as he has been away for a successful two-game stint with the U.S. National Team. Also retuning full strength should be Alejandra Moreno, who played briefly Thursday after returning from international duty with Venezuela. Jason Garey won’t play, and Pat Noonan is still out to injury.

The Crew will need all the help they can get. Chivas are off to their best start in franchise history, having beaten the Colorado Rapids 2-1 in their home opener (Video) and FC Dallas 2-0 last week on the road (Video).

Nine Chivas players are out or injured: Bobby Burling, Dan Kennedy, Ante Razov, Claudio Suarez, Lawson Vaughn, Sasha Victorine, Michael Lahoud, Alecko Eskandarian and Ante Jazic.

Keep an eye on Chivas forward Eduardo Lillingston, who was signed last month from Mexican club Tecos, and scored a goal against Dallas. He was ineffective in a 2-1 win over Colorado on March 21 and was substituted at halftime.

"It's better, I think the whole team played better (last Sunday)," said Chivas coach Predrag Radosavljević (“Preki”). “When the whole team plays better we're hoping that he plays better. We knew that he had experience in Mexico and he’s played quite a few games and we're hoping that he can come here and help us be better.”

The play of Sacha Kljestan also will be key for Chivas. Kljestan is expected to return to the lineup after disappointing international appearances for the U.S.

Kljestan has a goal and an assist in six games against Columbus.

The Crew split the season series last year, winning the home leg 4-3 on April 12 (Video) then losing away 2-0 on May 31 (Video). Chivas leads the all-time series with 4 wins on 12 goals to the Crew’s 2 wins on 10 goals with 2 ties.

Bookies Favor USA, Team Stays at Hyatt Cap Square, Hejduk to Start

If the men in the smoke-filled backrooms off shore at sportsbook.com are right, the United States will defeat Mexico on Wednesday or at worst walk away with a tie.

After weeks of laying back, apparently now enough people are interested in wagering on Wednesday’s smack down at Crew Stadium that the bookies have set a line, and it goes like this:

USA to Win: -125
Mexico to Win: +280
Tie: +220

For the novices, what this means is $100 on U.S.A. pays out $125 for a $25 profit. $100 on Mexico pays $280 for a $180 profit. And $100 for a tie nets $120 in profit.

El Luchador does not endorse illegal activity (other than sedition). However, if you are reading this from one of the many places on the planet where sports betting is legal (not Columbus, Ohio), then here is my advice: Do not bet on this game. The way these odds have been set tells you that all the money is being placed on the United States, and this is probably being influenced by rabid fans blindly supporting USA rather than honest, rational assessments about what is going to actually happen on the field.

That being said, El Luchador has already made his prediction, and he is sticking with it: USA 2, Mexico 1, with goals by Robbie Rogers and Sacha Kljestan.

Anyways, here is a round up on Wednesday’s game:

• The team has now landed in C-Bus and are staying Downtown at the Hyatt on Capitol Square.


• Frankie Hejduk will start at right back.


• I hate to always pick on the Dispatch, and they clearly have been trying on their soccer coverage lately. But, I couldn’t let this one go: Bob Hunter actually wrote the following phrase in Sunday’s paper, and it actually made it past his editors and into the paper: “Soccer fans here understand that the rivalry between the two nations is as hot as a jalapeno and as salty as a margarita.” Seriously?


• If Sven Goren Eriksson faces a humiliating defeat in Columbus on Wednesday against the U.S., he will be fired. There already rumors in the Mexican media that Javier Aguirre of Atletico Madrid will be the next coach for Mexico if Eriksson fails against the Americans. "It will be difficult, we know it will be a tough game, as history suggests, but we are going to work with optimism," Erickson told Rueters.


• The same Sweden squad that lost to the U.S. last week, just four days later dismantled the Mexicans in a 1-0 victory at the Oakland Coliseum before 46,000 mostly Mexican fans, who repeatedly booed their feeble fellow countrymen.


• A few basic facts about Mexico: The Mexican national football team is currently ranked 26th in the FIFA World Rankings. The United States is 22nd. Mexico has not failed to qualify for the World Cup since 1990, and that was not because of elimination in competition, but for rule violations in the 1988 Seoul Olympics, where they fielded players above the FIFA age limit (cheaters). The last time they failed to qualify in actual competition was 1974. Their best performances came in 1970 and 1986, when they reached the quarterfinals. Not coincidentally, both of these performances came when the tournament was played in Mexico.

Beckham Out, Friedel Rolls, Palermo On Tap

El Luchador has some shout-outs, observations and predictions:

• David Beckham will never play again for an MLS team. The reports that he is considering staying at AC Milan and not returning to LA are understated. He absolutely is not returning to LA.


• The United States Men’s National Team will defeat Mexico on Feb. 11 at Crew Stadium. The score will be 2-1. Sacha Kljestan will score the first goal. Robbie Rogers will score the second.


• The Crew will find a way to sign Boca Juniors veteran Martin Palermo, through a combination of dropping 1 or two bottom senior roster players, such as Jason Garey, and the undisclosed allocation money that was extorted from Seattle. An excellent analysis of the Crew salary situation is at Crewture.


• Congratulations to former Crew Keeper and Ohio native Brad Friedel who continued his EPL record consecutive appearance streak with his 175th game on Tuesday, a 1-0 shutout victory for Aston Villa over Pompey at Fratton Park. There’s no coverage of this in the Columbus Dispatch and probably never will be.


• There is coverage of a women’s basketball game tonight between Capital and Willmington that will be broadcast on WFCO radio 90.9 FM, according to the Dispatch. Also, there’s a 541-word story in today’s Dispatch about who Jack Hanna thinks will win the Super Bowl.